Cyprus: Antiquities bust in Aphrodite’s city

On Thursday, February 27th, a 58-year old Cypriot man (Mr
X) was arrested in Cyprus for illegal possession of ancient artefacts. The Paphos
CID detectives, acting on a tip, raided Mr X’s house in Peyia where they found [1]:
58 amphorae, 20 golden artefacts and six bayonets from the Hellenistic period
(323-31BC).These items were
confiscated, along with five firearms dating to the early 20th century, a
Russian AK-47, a metal detector, coins, jewellery, gold chalices and €9.411 in
cash. Mr. X could not provide convincing explanations as to the provenance of
any of the objects.[2] The
Department of Antiquities is inspecting the artefacts collected as evidence
from Mr X's house in anticipation of his trial before the Paphos District
Court.

According to Cypriot Antiquity Law, any antiquity that remains
undiscovered as of 1935 is the property of the Government. Antiquities
accidentally discovered by unlicensed persons (whether found on their land or
not) must be delivered to the mukhtar or other authorised persons, such
as the police or a museum. To be in compliance for the law, Mr. X would have
had to acquire the item before 1935 and have registered it with the Director of
Antiquities by 1 January 1974.[3]
In practice today, chance finders are often granted a license to possess (and
sell) antiquities so long as the Department of Antiquities does not
want them. Following Mr X's arrest on suspicion of illegal possession of
antiquities, it is not clear whether or not he approached such authorities,
whether he knew or reasonably believed the antiquities to be illicitly
excavated, or whether he may have dug them up himself. If this is the case, the
court will most likely confiscate the artefacts and deliver them to the
Director of Antiquities. Mr X could face imprisonment up to three years and/or
a fine.

Blank form to operate metal detector

Any person in possession of a metal detector must complete and
submit a form to the Director of Antiquities (a blank copy of the said form
can be found to the right.) If an individual is successful in obtaining this license,
they can only metal-detect in areas specified by the Minister by a notice in
the Republic’s Official Gazette. There have been no recent notices designating
metal-detecting areas. If Mr X is found to not possess the requisite
metal-detector license he could be found liable to imprisonment not exceeding
three years and/or to a fine not exceeding €30.000.

In my discussion with an individual from Department of Antiquities, finding
looted antiquities in Cypriot houses, particularly in more remote areas of the
island, is very common. The day Mr. X was arrested, gun shots were heard in
Peristerona.[4]
Two days later, four men -- two with gunshots wounds -- were arrested and the
incident was attributed to an attempt to settle a score between rival gangs. According
to a person working in the Department of Antiquities, upon inspection of one of
the men's houses, illicitly excavated antiquities were found. No newspaper
published this event and I only came to know about it from a discussion with the
unnamed individual working in the Department of Antiquities.[5]

Are all these busts related to one another? Is each individual
smuggling their contraband abroad and selling it themselves on the grey market[6]
or is there a 'Medici/Becchina' figure who is facilitating the sale of
antiquities? In 2010, police caught a cartel of ten smugglers that were
attempting to sell 4,000-year old urns, silver coins and figurines, worth an
estimate of €11 million (approximately $15 million)[7].
Could their associates still be in 'business'? How large and how far does this
ring of organised crime[8]
extend in Cyprus?

[3] There is a lot of criticism of this 1973 amendment to the Antiquities Law. The illicit trade in antiquities flourished in Cyprus in the 1960s. The Department of Antiquities tried to control it by imposing the six-month registration period (the amendment in June 1973 allowed collectors until 31 December 1973 to register their collections). This however had the adverse effect of intensifying looting and illicit trade - private collectors became greedy and wanted to acquire as many artefacts as possible so as they could register them by the deadline. More than 1250 new private collections appeared during this period, many of which purchased artefacts directly from looters. (See Hardy, Sam A. "Cypriot Antiquities Law on Looted Artefacts and Private Collections." Web log post. Human Rights Archaeology: Cultural Heritage in Conflict., 11 Jan. 2011.)

[5] The Director of Antiquities (who is responsible for press releases) failed to respond to my telephone calls or e-mails in regards to this article.

[6] Illicit antiquities are frequently sold on the open market. McKenzie argues that, because the trade in antiquities is legal, it turns the issue from black and white to an ambiguous shade of grey. See Mackenzie, Simon, 'The Market as Criminal and Criminals in the Market: Reducing Opportunities for Organised Crime in the International Antiquities Market'.

[8] Vulnerabilities in the antiquities trade have presented the opportunity to make a profit through organised crime. Art. 2(a) of the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime 2000 defines organised crime as being: “[a] structured group of three or more persons... acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offences... to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit.” The following
subsections go on to define 'serious crimes' and 'structured group', but it is evident that the group arrested in 2010 fits the UN definition. Although there are various definitions for organised crime, the UN's definition is broader than say that of the FBI's to include crimes such as antiquities, which are not necessarily motivated by money; they also do not need to be in a formal organisation but must have committed criminal not civil offences.